Fables of The Self

A New Place Beyond

I stare at the sprawling expanse
that reveals shallowness of existence
like a mud-puddle
created by horse's hoof -
depth directly proportional
to the wisdom gained.

Through centuries of upheaval,
in which ego is flogged
like a wild horse drunk with pride,
I look beyond the expanse
where depth and wisdom cohabit
in a new design: a 'stable'
- stable of Pegasus Divine.

*

Divided Square

A little bird in the window
perched on one of the bars
that divide the frame
into many parallels.
A bit suspicious and intrigued,
it hops between
the lower bar and the higher
and gauges the distance
and judges the efforts
that would be necessary
to transcend the square.

-- c s shah

*

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The Naughty Sparrow

The house sparrow
delicately adjusted her pointed shoes
on the frame of the mirror
and dotted her image inside -
tut, tut; tut, tut...

Our son - just past infancy -
turned his ears towards the sound,
eyes, neck, and head rotated with effort.
The sparrow played with the child, and
the child acknowledged the friendship.

Till that day
- before the son was born, to be precise -<
I used to admire the sparrow
for her benign foolishness...
naive I would call her.

The question now daunts me:
Last year, year before year, for whom
the sparrow dotted the mirror?

And my wife laughs
at the wrinkles over my forehead:
You are too intelligent dear
to understand the obvious -
before our child was born
you were the child for the sparrow!
--

all poems by c s shah

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